"Okay." she said. "What’s up? Let’s go into the living room."
He ignored her and took another step into the bedroom. Unease prickled down her spine. Something was definitely off with him. She could see it in his eyes and in his body language.
“How much would it take for you to walk away from Matt?” he asked.
Her eyes widened in shock. She couldn’t have heard him correctly. “Excuse me?” she said, unable to believe what she had just heard.
"Don’t play dumb. You’re a smart girl. How much would it take for you to dump Matt and take off?" Enzo asked.
"You’re offering me money to leave your brother?" Savannah asked.
He nodded. Something that looked like genuine regret flickered across his face. He fidgeted nervously and then pinned her with his stare. “I’d hoped you’d make this easy. It’s not a small amount of money we’re offering.” he said.
The “we” in that statement confirmed Savannah's suspicions that Matt's mother was indeed the mastermind of this operation. "Did your mother put you up to this?" she asked him. "You’re both out of your minds. I love Matt. He loves me. We’re getting married."
He didn't reply, just grinned at her.
She was about to tell Enzo exactly where he and his mother could get off when he took another step toward her. The look in his eyes had her hastily backing away.
“I think you should go now,” she said even as she reached for the phone.
Enzo lunged across the bed, knocking the phone from her hand. She was so stunned by the sudden attack that for a moment she didn’t— couldn’t—defend herself.
He shoved her down on the bed, his hands moving roughly over her body, pushing up her skirt, pulling at her pants. She drew her knee up, trying to catch him in the groin, but he dodged and then rolled her underneath him.
She cried out in pain at the rough mauling. She was furious and terrified. He fully intended to rape her in Matt's bed. Had he lost his mind? Matt would kill him for this.
His hands moved over her skin with bruising force. Knowing if she wasn’t able to fight him off that he’d assault her in Matt's home, she began struggling with renewed force.
She finally managed to land a blow between his legs, which had him doubling over, clutching at himself. She rolled, falling to the floor, her hands desperately grabbing at her clothing. She got to her feet, her hand clutching her bruised throat.
“He’ll kill you for this,” she gasped. “How did you think you’d get away with it? My God, you’re his brother! You bastard.”
She started for the door, her only thought to get to Matt, but Enzo's words gave her pause.
“He’ll never believe you.” he said.
“You’re insane,” she choked out even as she ran for the door.
-----------------
Savannah had been very wrong, and Enzo had been right. By the time she rushed to Matt's office, she was too late.
Matt was standing in his office, his hands in his pocket, his head resting on the office wall, his body stiff. When she called his name and he turned around to look at her, she knew something was seriously wrong. Matt had never looked at her that way before.
She tried to explain what had happened, but Matt hadn’t believed her. Enzo had called his brother from Matt's own apartment before she could arrive at Matt's office.
He had given Matt his own accounting of what happened, and the genius of his story was that he told Matt exactly what Savannah would tell him. Only Enzo told Matt that Savannah had been the instigator and that when he told her he was going to tell Matt that she had cheated on him, she had concocted a smug story that he had assaulted her.
Enzo played his part to the hilt. That he was the victim of Savannah's lies and manipulations. So when Savannah ran to Matt office and related the exact story that Enzo warned Matt she would tell, Matt had been coldly furious.He hadn't believed her, just as Enzo had said. He believed his brother. Enzo was family of course. And for a while Savannah was shocked that he had such little faith and trust in her. Why would he even want to marry her if he could believe this about her. He strongly believed that his brother wouldn't lie about something like that.She had tried to explain , even begged him. But he didn't want to listen. Hadn't even stopped to listen.Worse part, as if the pain wasn't enough, he wrote her a damn check and then he threw her out of his life.--------------------------PRESENT DAY-------------------------“Almost enough to make you believe in the fine ins
Matt was silent for a long moment. It wasn’t a question he could entirely answer. How could he explain the burning desire to know where she was? What she was doing. If she was all right. It had been a year for crying out loud. He shouldn’t care, damn it. He should forget all about her, but he couldn’t.“I want some answers,” he finally muttered. “She never cashed the check I gave her. I’d just like to know that nothing has happened to her.”The excuse sounded lame even to him.Dash raised an eyebrow and sipped at the expensive wine. “After what she pulled, I’d imagine she’s feeling pretty damn stupid." he said."I wouldn’t want to show my face either.”Matt shrugged. “Maybe.” But he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was something more. Why was he even worried? Why should he care? Why hadn’t she cashed the check? Why couldn’t he get her out of his mind? She haunted him. For a year, he had cursed her, lain
Their gazes automatically went to David, who was still wrapped around his bride. Yeah, the man had caused them a major setback when he pulled the plug on the Moon Island venture, but it was hard for Matt to get up in arms about it when David looked so damn happy.Matt's pocket vibrated, and he reached down to pull his phone out. He was about to hit the ignore button when he saw who was calling. He frowned.“Excuse me, I need to take this.” he said.Stefan and Dash waved him off and returned to their bantering as Matt hurried out of the building. As soon as he stepped outside, the sea breeze ruffled his hair and the tang of salt filled his nose. The weather was seasonable but by no means hot. It was about as perfect a day as you could ask for, especially for a wedding on the beach. He turned to look at the distant waves and brought the phone to his ear.
"Jeez, girl" Vicky said. "You say Lamar is uptight. But sometimes, you are too. Learn to loosen up a bit, girl. Since you got back, you seem different. I let you have your one year... One year of doing God knows what in God knows where. But you're back now, and I want my friend back""Yeah I'm back" Savannah said. "But it doesn't mean I want to watch you shack up with your boyfriend"Victoria laughed. "Jealous much?" she asked."Nope I'm not jealous" Savannah replied. "I'm happy for you actually. Not easy finding true, undying love" She remembered hers which had ended a year ago and shook her head to get the thought of her head. She had promised herself she was finally going to move on."Just don't rub your happiness in my face" she said jokingly, grinning at Victoria. "And definitely not in here where Lamar can just walk i
That might leave her frustrated, but that was a state of being Savannah could take care of on her own.She shivered, and then, pulling herself together, out of her day dream and began to clear the tables on the side of the diner assigned to her.-------------------Matt drove through town in the blinding rain. His destination was Logan's diner where Savannah was waitressing. It shouldn’t surprise him. It was the place she was working before she had left. She’d been waitressing there when they’d met. And during their relationship, he had offered to get her a job in his company but she had refused, insisting that she would be uncomfortable working for him while they were sleeping together.He had insisted but had given up when he realized that he couldn't change her mind about her decision. But he had tried
The honey blond hair was longer and pulled into a ponytail, but it was her. He felt, more than visualized her, and his body quickened in response even after all these months.Then she turned and presented her profile, and he felt every ounce of blood drain from his face.What the everloving hell?She was beautiful. Maybe even more beautiful than she was when they were together. Okay, maybe it was because he hadn't seen her for so damn long. But hell, she was stunning.She looked simple, as she always liked to look, but somehow that simplicity made her stand out always. She was wearing her uniform, a short blue skirt and fitted white shirt, with a white apron tied around her waist.He had always hated that skirt. Not because she didn't look good in it. It was actually because she
Tears pricked her eyelids and it only made her more furious that she was actually upset over seeing Matt Bradford again. So much for getting over him.No, she didn’t want to face him. She never wanted to see him again. Never did she want anyone to have the kind of power he had to hurt her. Never again.She buried her head in her hands, trying to comfort herself.“I was a fool to love him,” she whispered. “I was a fool to think I could ever fit in and that his family would accept me. I was so wrong and so stupid.”She jumped when the door behind her vibrated with a knock. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she put a shaky hand to her chest. She stared at the door as if she could see through it.“Savvie, open the damn door. I know you’re in there.”
He didn’t move. “Why are you living this way, Savvie?" he asked. "I can’t wrap my head around why you did what you did. I would have given you everything. Hell, I still gave you a hefty amount of money when we broke up because I didn’t like to think of you being without. But now I find you still living in squalor working a job that is far beneath your abilities.” he said.A wave of hatred hit her hard. In this moment she realized that she truly loved and hated him in equal measure. Her chest hurt so bad that she couldn’t breathe. Her mind went back to the day when she’d stood in front of him, devastated, completely and utterly broken, while he scribbled his signature on a bank draft and disdainfully shoved it toward her.The look in his eyes had told her that he didn’t love her, had never loved her. He didn’t trust her. He didn’t have faith in her.When she’d needed him the absolute